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November 2004 EMS Wire Service
Field Stroke-Evaluation Test Appears Effective
An on-scene test utilized by prehospital providers in Great Britain shows promise in helping EMS crews quickly identify victims of stroke.
The Face Arm Speech Test (FAST) was used by Dorset medics for a year. The medics referred patients they identified as stroke victims to a hospital acute stroke unit, where they were then screened by physicians and trainee neurologists. Recorded neurological signs (facial weakness, arm weakness and speech disturbance) in confirmed cases of stroke/transient ischemic attack were compared between the medics and hospital evaluators.
In each category, the medics did as well as the physicians: 68% of the former identified facial weakness, versus 70% of the latter; with arm weakness, the rates were 96% vs. 95%; with speech disturbance, 79% vs. 77%. The raters agreed on arm weakness in 98% of cases.“Recognition of neurological deficits by ambulance paramedics using FAST,” researchers concluded, “shows good agreement with physician assessment, even allowing for temporal evolution of deficits.” For more, see the June issue of Stroke.
—StrokeCancer Claims NAEMT’s 1st Executive Director
Jeffrey S. Harris, the first executive director of the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT), died at his home in Jacksonville, FL, on September 3 following a yearlong battle with lung cancer.
Harris, who began his emergency-services career in Massachusetts as a disaster volunteer and first-aid instructor, was one of the founders of NAEMT, which grew out of the Massachusetts Association of EMTs in the 1970s. In 1975, he became NAEMT’s first secretary/treasurer, serving under original president A. Roger Fox. He served as executive director from 1978–81.
Today, NAEMT’s State Leadership Award is named for Harris. It is presented annually to an individual making a lasting contribution to his or her state EMS association.
Harris is survived by his wife, Laura Weiss, two daughters and a grandson. The family requests donations on Harris’ behalf be sent to the Cancer Treatment Research Foundation (www.crtf.org) or any other organization chosen by the donor.
—NAEMT
FFs in Mexico, Ecuador Receive Smart Strips
Firefighters in Mexico and Ecuador will be better-prepared for chemical emergencies following the donation of 1,000 chemical-agent-indicating devices to their departments.
The donation of HazMat Smart Strips was facilitated through Los Bomberos of Northern California, a group representing Latino firefighters. They were delivered this fall to personnel in Machala, Ecuador and Lazaro-Cardenas, Mexico.
The HazMat Smart Strip, developed by Safety Solutions, Inc., is a chemical-detection warning badge worn by responders. It changes colors when exposed to hazardous chemicals such as chlorine, fluoride, nerve agents, oxidizers, arsenic, sulfides and cyanide, either in liquid or aerosol form, along with variations in pH.
Along with delivering the Smart Strips, Bomberos members Victor and Cruz Tapia, brothers from San Jose, CA, taught 40-hour hazmat classes to firefighters in both countries.
—National Technology Transfer Center
New Chicago Fire Dept. Testing Policy Kicks Off
A new policy for drug- and alcohol-testing employees of the Chicago Fire Department began in August with the random selection of a department paramedic and a firefighter candidate for testing.
The random tests were authorized 18 months ago by the firefighters’ latest contract, but were not initiated until this summer. Under the new program, all uniformed firefighters, from candidates all the way up to Commissioner Cortez Trotter, are subject to random drug and alcohol testing. A computer will select 20 names a day to be screened.
A private firm, Quest Laboratories, has been selected to administer the screenings, which consist of Breathalyzer tests and urine samples.
Previously, Chicago firefighters were tested only if a driver was involved in a crash resulting in injury or significant property damage, if a supervisor witnessed suspicious behavior or symptoms, or if he or she had previously violated city drug policy. Those tests will continue as well.
—WMAQ TV
Wash. Man Convicted of HIPAA Violations
With a guilty plea in August, a Seattle-area man became the first in the U.S. to be criminally convicted of violating provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
Richard W. Gibson, 42, of SeaTac, admitted to wrongful disclosure of individually identifiable protected health information for economic gain. While employed at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, he had obtained a cancer patient’s name, date of birth and social security number, and used the information to obtain four credit cards in the patient’s name. He then ran up more than $9,000 of debt on the cards.
As part of the plea agreement, Gibson will be sentenced to a term of 10–16 months to be served either wholly in federal prison or in a combination of federal prison and home/community confinement. He will also pay restitution to the credit card companies and the victim.
—U.S. Department of Justice
UK Clubs Hire Medics to Deal With Drug ODs
Nightclubs in Britain have begun hiring paramedics to staff recovery areas following an upsurge in incidents involving a new club drug, gamma butyrolactone (GBL).
GBL, a stronger version of the bodybuilding substance GHB, is used in cleaning fluids and industrial solvents. It is reportedly supplanting GHB as the substance of choice for club-goers using drugs.
Users who overdose have been collapsing comatose on dance floors, the Belfast Telegraph reported. At least one company that provides paramedic support to six clubs in London, Knightlife Medical Services, is investing in defibrillators to correct these patients’ heart rhythms.
“The overdose potential with GBL is monstrous,” one ex-user whose heartbeat slowed to 40 bpm when he overdosed told the paper. “The dosage curve is exceedingly steep.”
—Belfast Telegraph
